When did you tell your families that you were getting married?

“When did you tell your families that you were getting married?” is a practice question about relationship timeline for a marriage-based green card interview at a USCIS field office. A real officer may ask it in other words, ask something else, or skip it. Practice can help you explain your own facts. It cannot tell you what USCIS will decide.

What is the officer checking with this question?

The officer may be learning how your marriage plans became known to people in your lives. The timing can show whether relatives heard before a proposal, during wedding planning, or after the ceremony. Each family may have learned at a different time, so the officer may ask about individual people rather than one announcement to everyone.

What might the officer ask next?

• Which relative heard the news first?
• How did you tell that person?
• Did your spouse tell their family at the same time?
• Was the ceremony date already set when you shared the news?

The next question usually comes from the words in your answer. If you name a person, a place, or a month, expect a question about it. The guide to green card interview follow-up questions explains how to practice past the first answer.

How do you prepare to answer it?

Think separately about your relatives and your spouse's relatives. Recall who knew first, how they learned, and whether you were present for the conversation. Separate telling someone you planned to marry from inviting them to a ceremony or telling them the wedding had happened. If you cannot remember the date of a call or message, place it before or after a known event only when you are sure of that order.

Answer from your own memory, in your own words. Do not learn a script or a sample answer. If your spouse remembers a detail differently, first check whether you mean the same event. Ask your lawyer about any concern with your forms or documents.

Can you practice this question out loud for free?

Yes. Choose "Answer it now, free". The officer asks this question first. You answer out loud, and the officer follows up on what you said. You can try 3 questions free, and you do not need documents. Feedback comes after the session, not while you speak.

More relationship timeline questions

• When did you and your spouse decide to get married?
• Was there a proposal? Who proposed, and where did it take place?
• Did you live together before you married? If so, when did you move in together?
• Please walk me through the major milestones in your relationship from meeting to marriage.
• Have either of you moved cities or countries since you met? When and why?
• What is your spouse's date of birth?

Read the relationship timeline topic guide, or see all 91 interview questions.